Presidential Decree no. 102 of 6 March 1978 created SISSA, the Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati, in Trieste, as one of five institutions established in the Friuli region in the years of reconstruction after the May 1976 earthquake. The physicist Paolo Budinich, who had wanted a graduate school in Trieste, was the central figure behind it and became its first general director.
SISSA is a postgraduate institute for education and research working in three areas: mathematics, physics and neuroscience. Its doctoral courses are organised around these fields, and it also takes part in master’s programmes run together with other universities. Daniele Amati became director in 1986 and led the school for about fifteen years.
The school works closely with the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), which Budinich had co-founded, and the two institutions share a supercomputing resource and a master’s programme in high performance computing. Since 2010 its campus has stood on the Karst upland above Trieste, in the Opicina district, after earlier years in premises near Miramare Park.
Domains taught:
AI and Machine Learning, Astroscience, Bioengineering, Bioinformatics, Computer Vision, Data Analytics, Life Sciences, Mathematics, Nanotechnologies, Physics, Statistics
Diplomas*:
Doctor, Master
Status:
Public
Partnerships:
Strong collaborations with other research centers in Trieste (Trieste System”) and internationally.”
Research:
High energy physics, Statistical physics, Computational neuroscience, Cognitive neuroscience, Applied mathematics.
Famous Alumnis:
N/A
International recognition**:
Number of staff***:
300
Current students***:
400
Foreign students***:
50%
Cumulative former students***:
2000
Pros
Leading international graduate school, high-level research environment, strong focus on PhD programs.
Cons
Exclusively postgraduate, highly specialized, intense research focus.
Best For
International graduate school for advanced research in physics, mathematics, and neuroscience.
Gran Sasso Science Institute in L'Aquila is a public postgraduate institute listing astroparticle physics and mathematics, the closest analogue to SISSA in Italy.
Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, a public school in Pisa, focuses on physics, mathematics and chemistry with a research-oriented profile.
Sharing the city of Trieste, Università degli Studi di Trieste is a public university whose main fields include physics, neuroscience and engineering.
Istituto Universitario di Studi Superiori di Pavia is a public institute in Pavia with neuroscience and cognitive science among its fields.
Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna di Pisa, also public and in Pisa, specialises in robotics, photonics and agricultural sciences.
Most Similar Schools Abroad
IHES (France) is a private research institute at Bures-sur-Yvette devoted to mathematics and theoretical physics.
Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (Japan) is a graduate university in Okinawa working in neuroscience, physics and chemistry, and marine science.
Donostia International Physics Center (Spain) is a physics research centre in San Sebastian, comparable in its focus on theoretical and condensed-matter work.
Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (Russia) is a public institution near Moscow with theoretical physics and applied mathematics among its fields.
Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen (Germany) is a public university in Tübingen with neuroscience and cognitive science as main fields.
*our own picks (our criteria: a mix between domains, diploma delivered, reputation and size), but obviously too many criteria for an apple-to-apple ranking.
FAQ
When was SISSA founded and by what act?
It was created by Presidential Decree no. 102 of 6 March 1978. The same decree set up four other institutions in the Friuli region.
What fields can a student pursue there?
Its research and doctoral teaching are in mathematics, physics and neuroscience. It also offers master's programmes jointly with partner universities, for example in data science and scientific computing.
How is the school linked to ICTP?
Paolo Budinich co-founded the International Centre for Theoretical Physics with Abdus Salam, and SISSA developed a strong collaboration with it. Both are based in Trieste, and they run joint teaching such as a master's in high performance computing.
Who was Paolo Budinich?
He was the physicist who pushed for a graduate school in Trieste and became SISSA's first general director. He was also behind the creation of ICTP.
Where is the campus?
SISSA is in Trieste, Italy, and its campus has been on the Karst upland above the city since 2010. Earlier it was located near Miramare Park.
Who has directed the school?
Budinich was the first general director, and Daniele Amati directed it from 1986 for about fifteen years. Later directors followed in turn.
How can someone apply to SISSA?
Calls for doctoral and master's places are published on the official site sissa.it. Deadlines and conditions are set for each course, so the specific call is the reliable source.
Innovation, Mathematics, Physics, Product Development
*: without any judgment of the quality, readers are strongly encouraged to check the official status of the exact diploma envisioned as many universities have a mix of recognized diplomas, not recognized, “co-delivered,” “equivalent to”, “some pathways” (…), can change over time, and can be named differently from one country to another.
**: international reputation: is based on some criteria that do not mean much in some domains or specialties (number of researchers, of scientific publications, on budget ….). Our approximate 1-4 scale:
known locally
known locally and internationally
is listed in some of the world university’s classifications
is listed among the 20 firsts in some of world university’s classifications
***: estimated numbers, based on online sources and/or feedbacks. The numbers can vary greatly depending on school organisation (ex.: school is part of a group, it employs internal staff or external consultants or has public staff without employing them …). Refer to all the links provided to have accurate and updated numbers.
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